Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I am delighted to be afforded the opportunity to speak briefly on this subject. This has been an excellent debate and there have been some wonderful contributions.

The abuse to which children were subjected in reformatories, industrial schools, orphanages and Magdalene homes is a national disgrace. It was acknowledged as such by the Taoiseach, who made an apology to the victims of abuse on behalf of the State. Every right-thinking person lauded the establishment of the Laffoy commission, which was charged with inquiring into cases of child abuse and giving the victims of abuse the opportunity to have their day in court. The stated intention of the inquiry seems to have been frustrated and hindered by the Department of Education and Science, in particular. This culminated in the resignation of Ms Justice Laffoy. I cannot accept the view of a previous speaker, who said it is very difficult to locate specific documents in the Department of Education and Science when required, as there are so many papers in that Department.

What can we do to give survivors a speedy recourse to justice, which was the purpose of the inquiry? A spokesman for Aisling said recently that the people who go through the investigation committee only want to look their abusers in the face and ask them why they did what they did.

The handling of the issue by the Department of Education and Science has been disgraceful. The Government stated that its actions were largely motivated by concern that hearings would take up to 12 years, yet last November when the commission, in a document entitled Framework Procedures, sought resources to hold parallel hearings the Government agreed in principle to provide the extra resources, but failed to provide them on the basis requested. It has been estimated that if those resources had been provided, the commission could finish its hearings by July 2005. Instead of looking for review after review, the Minister should have provided those resources and let the commission do its job, finish its hearings in 2005 and produce its report in 2006. Reviews and reports are regularly called for by the Government. This is another way of delaying and postponing decisions. The Government's inability to act has resulted in the resignation of Ms Justice Laffoy.